


the warmth of home lives in all of us

by fifteen_half



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Family Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Na Jaemin-centric, Protective Older Brothers, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 03:28:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29253696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fifteen_half/pseuds/fifteen_half
Summary: Jaemin only had two songs left to perform before he could go home and give up the act. Taking a deep breath, and swaying dangerously when Chenle accidentally bumped into him, Jaemin convinced himself that everything was going to be okay, that he was going to perform well, that he wouldn’t ruin their concert.So what if he was sick? So what if he felt like he was burning and freezing all at once? So what if it was a little hard to breathe and that he was just about to collapse? He could do this. He really can.Unfortunately, his body had other ideas.Or; it’s an online concert. all members are there. dream had a song to perform so the hyungs watch over jaemin in the meantime.
Relationships: Na Jaemin & NCT 127 Ensemble, Na Jaemin & NCT Dream Ensemble, Na Jaemin & WayV Ensemble
Comments: 8
Kudos: 162





	the warmth of home lives in all of us

**Author's Note:**

> i was so happy i received prompts and soooo, here it is ahahaha i’m surprised i finished this so fast—just in time for the birthday of a very special friend <3
> 
> happy birthday, [lily](https://archiveofourown.org/users/starwreck/pseuds/starwreck)!! i always have fun talking to you on twt! may we grow closer this year so that we can both spam each other with angsty head canons and prompts 🤣 ilu!

No one was really paying attention to Jaemin when it happened. One second he was there, hurrying to get off the stage just like the rest of them, but then one second later, he was just…

Down.

Jeno had been beside him then. Too focused on preparing for the next performance, he didn’t even notice something was wrong until the distant horrified screaming of fans on the screens gained his attention.

And then he saw Jaemin and he couldn’t feel anything at all except  _ panicworryfearfearfear _ . He fell on his knees beside the crumpled form of his best friend and with growing trepidation, carefully, gently, turned him so that Jaemin’s back was against the floor.

Jaemin’s eyes were closed shut and for a moment Jeno couldn't breathe.

And then Donghyuck was suddenly across him, yelling, “Jaemin-ah, oh my god. Are you okay?”

“Jaemin-hyung?!” “What’s wrong? What happened?!” “Jaemin-ah,yah! Jaemin-ah!”

Everyone grew silent, waiting for Jaemin to stir, to wake up,  _ anything _ !

But he didn't. 

He was completely still except for the harsh movement of his chest as he breathed.

And then someone yelled, “Someone call the medics!” prompting a flurry of activity around them. Voices were yelling over each other:

“Everybody move! Don’t crowd around him!” “Why aren’t there medical staff here?!” “They’re near the dressing rooms. We radioed the call. They should be on their way.” “Should we call an ambulance?” “Keep your voices down! The next performance is starting!”

_ Nectar  _ began to play. Someone was asking them to get ready for the next performance but none of the members heard this. Their attention was focused solely on Jaemin.

With shaking hands Donghyuck reached out and placed his hand on Jaemin’s arm, afraid to touch him anywhere else, afraid he might hurt him more. Patting him gently, he called again, “Jaemin-ah? Jaemin-ah, come on. Please wake up.”

But Jaemin only laid still.

“We gotta get him off the floor,” Jeno suddenly said, wanting to do something,  _ anything _ to help his friend. He couldn’t sit still and just  _ wait _ anymore. He was about to place Jaemin’s arm over his shoulder to haul him up but before he could, Renjun and Donghyuck yelled for him to stop at the same time.

“We don’t know if he’s hurt anywhere else,” Renjun whispered, his heart thudding heavily in his chest, “If we move him, we could hurt him more.”

“But—,”

“Hyung’s too hot,” Chenle suddenly said, redirecting everyone’s attention to him. He was by Jaemin’s head, Jisung behind him, a hand over Jaemin’s forehead.

“Hyung’s too hot,” he repeated, his eyes wide with worry and fear, “He’s burning up.”

As Jeno gasped a panicked, “What?” Donghyuck moved and felt the temperature on Jaemin’s forehead as well. With wide eyes, he asked them, “Did he say anything? Before coming here?”

Everyone shook their heads.

They all had a tendency to downplay their hurts, but they knew their bodies well enough to tell when it was serious. If he told no one, then Jaemin must have thought he could handle it.

Was it something more serious then?

In the silence, their attention was finally diverted to the staff around them.

“There’s less than two minutes before your next performance. I’m sorry,” the staff said, sincerely sorry that she was asking them to leave a friend in this situation, “But we need you all to get ready.”

“We’ll take care of Jaeminnie,” their manager promised, “He’ll be okay.”

They knew they should follow, should continue on, but none of them could move.

And then Taeyong was suddenly there, along with Mark, Doyoung, Jungwoo and Jaehyun. They were panting heavily, as if they had run as fast as they could.

As Jungwoo gasped and fell to his knees beside Jaemin, Taeyong tore his gaze away from the younger boy and took a deep breath to calm himself down. He tried to give the younger ones a smile, tried to appear confident when he said, “Jaemin will be okay and he’ll want you to continue. He’ll be devastated if you couldn’t perform because of him.”

They knew it was true because they would’ve felt the same if they were in Jaemin’s place. But it was hard. How could they pretend they were alright when they weren’t? How could they happily interact with the fans when they knew Jaemin couldn’t?

In that moment, the medical staff finally arrived, forcing everyone to move away. As everyone was focused on the staff checking up on Jaemin, Mark touched the arm of each of the remaining members of the Dream. He may not have been actively promoting with them just yet, but he was still their leader, their hyung.

“We’ll be here for him,” Mark promised, “Jaeminnie will be okay. We’ll make sure he’s okay.”

Jaemin regained consciousness to the feeling of someone threading their fingers through his hair. He sighed in contentment and pushed his head slightly into those gentle hands, wanting more of their comfort.

But the hand stilled and a nervous but hopeful voice asked, “Jaeminnie? Do you mind opening your eyes for us?”

He frowned, confused. And then he realized he was lying down on something soft, most likely a couch, and that his head was placed on someone’s lap. Slowly, he opened his eyes and was met with the worried gaze of Jungwoo.

“Hey,” Jungwoo breathed, his eyes a little wet, “You’re awake.”

“Hyung?” he mumbled, frowning, “What’s going on?”

“You fainted,” Doyoung answered somewhere out of Jaemin’s view.

“I, I what?”

Before Doyoung could explain further, Jaehyun was there kneeling beside him, a worried frown on his face as he asked, “How are you feeling, Jaem?”

“Do you still feel dizzy? Lightheaded?” Mark added, his voice somewhere above him.

“Um.”

“He just woke up,” Taeil gently admonished, chuckling softly, “Let’s not crowd him just yet, okay?"

“Just rest, Jaeminnie,” Johnny urged, “The medical staff told us you need a lot of rest. The concert’s almost over. We’ll go home right after.”

Wait. The concert!

In the background, he could hear Jeno rap his part in Ridin’. Panicked, he attempted to sit up but Yuta quickly pushed him back down and held him in place.

“Let’s not do that just yet, Jaeminnie,” he said, grinning down at him, “We don’t want to pull the IV out.”

IV? Jaemin blinked and finally noticed the IV line attached to his left arm.

“You were sick, weren’t you?” Ten asked, the tone of his voice almost accusing, “You were sick but you didn’t tell anyone.”

When Jaemin turned towards Ten’s voice, he saw Dejun and Hendery place a comforting arm on Ten’s shoulder.

Ten really, really looked upset.

“Jaeminnie, why didn’t you tell anyone?” he asked.

“I…” well, what else could he say but, “I thought I could handle it.”

“Your temp was over a hundred! Any higher and—,”

Jaemin looked away and bit his lip in shame, “I’m sorry, hyung. I didn’t think this was gonna happen. I—,” 

“It’s not your fault, Jaeminnie,” Kun assuaged, moving in his line of view. He was smiling ruefully at someone before he said, “Ten was just worried about you.”

“Damn right I was,” the Thai boy replied, huffing, “Don’t you ever do this again or I swear I’ll—!”

Kun chuckled then he smiled at Jaemin, “Best to follow him on that one, Jaemin-ah. You know how Ten is.”

Before he could reply, his head suddenly started to throb badly and he couldn’t help but wince and close his eyes.

“Jaemin-ah?!” “Jaemin, what’s wrong?” “Someone call the medics back!”

“I’m okay,” he mumbled, using his free hand to massage his temple, “M’ head just hurts.”

In response, Jungwoo’s soothing hands returned. Jaemin sighed, “Thanks, hyung.”

“Is everyone ready?” a staff called, “You guys are on in three!”

Reminded again that they were still in the middle of a concert, Jaemin was overcome with regret as he said, “I ruined the concert, didn’t I?”

Lucas was quick to assure him otherwise, “Not at all! Don’t think about the concert anymore, Jaemin-ah.”

"Your _hyungdeul_ will handle this," Winwin determinedly said, his voice bright, happy to see that Jaemin was awake, "We'll finish the concert successfully for you."

“They're right,” Taeyong continued, “And, don’t get me wrong, okay?” he said, placing a firm hand on Jaemin’s leg, “I’m not condoning this at all. But it would’ve been a lot harder if you hadn't performed with us.”   
  
“And there’s just one more song left,” Yangyang supplied somewhere at the back, “The concert’s almost over anyway.”   
  
“I don’t want this to happen again, and I hate it that you didn’t tell anyone but,” Johnny said, gently ruffling Jaemin’s hair, “I’m amazed how you managed to hold up till the end. You’re something else, Jaemin-ah.”

“No one follow his example though, I’m warning all of you!” Doyoung threatened, “If anyone pulls this stunt I’ll make sure the company grounds you!”

Jaemin snorted, and smiled.

How lucky was he to have such great hyungs.

Hours after the concert, fans were abuzz by rumors of Jaemin’s condition. In the midst of this, Jisung had sent a cryptic message on bbl.

_ Our dorm’s a mess right now _ .  _ The hyungs are crazy! _

And then, a few minutes later, he sent a selfie in a dim room with the caption:

_ Everything is going to be okay. Rest well, our Czennies! _

When fans enhanced the photo seconds later, they would find silhouettes behind Jisung, of someone sleeping on the bed, and of a few familiar figures surrounding the bed protectively.

**Author's Note:**

> you see, i can write prompts! send me jaem-centric angst ones, maybe it'll inspire me and i'll write it quickly too~  
> [cc](https://curiouscat.qa/aswellinthesea) | [twt](https://twitter.com/aswellinthesea)  
> 


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